Industry was already in decline in West Bengal when the Nandigram and Singur debacles set the state back further. As it turns out, when Mamata Banerjee takes charge of the new government, she will inherit R53,000 crore worth of investments tied up in land acquisition problems and political disputes.

Around 80 small and medium industries entailing investment worth R12,131 crore are under construction. These industries, according to West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) reports, has the potential to generate 25,000 jobs.

As CPM exits Bengal, it virtually has only three projects it can boast of ? Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL), 630 mw Bakreswar Thermal Power Plant (BTPP) and 900 mw Purulia Pump Storage Project, and thereby hangs a tale.

While HPL, Bengal government?s dream project, has all along been struggling to get out of the red, PPSP is a complete flop show since it consumes more power to lift water than it can generate.

HPL, executed in public-private partnership, has so far got investments of around R7,000 crore. The 630 mw of BTPP, which was solely a government project, was done at an investment of around R3,000 crore of which R2,500 crore was a Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) loan. PPSP, a West Bengal Power Development Corporation project, was executed at a cost of R3,200 crore with 70% coming as JBIC debt.

So it is now left on the new government to fructify investments worth R65,131 core, though that has been attracted by the earlier government.

In fact West Bengal?s drive for industrialisation took off too late, only after 2005, when it completed almost 30 years of rule in the state. It aimed at doing too many things in too little a time but was not equipped enough to execute projects in a hurry.

The biggest hurdle came in the way of land acquisition at Singur and Nandigram when the government ignoring a feeble oppositions in the assembly (32 TMC MLAs then) went for forcible acquisition. Trinamool Congress played a spoilsport both in Singur and Nandigram, which could have drawn investments worth R1,500 crore and R3000 crore, respectively.

But the root of the problem lies in fragmented and tiny land holding. In Bengal, for acquiring 1 acre one might have to talk to around 50 landowners. For acquiring 997 acres at Singur for the aborted Tata project, the government paid cheques to more than 12,000 land owners and many have not accepted as yet.

So land reforms that has been touted as the biggest success of the Left rule, came as the biggest hurdle in its pro-industry push.

But though Tatas have left Singur and the Centre could not go ahead with its PCPIR project for problems of land acquisition, JSW Bengal?s 10 million tonne steel project with commitments of R35,000 crore investment is stuck for lack of political goodwill despite the fact that there was no problem in acquiring 4,500 acres. Located at Salboni, a Maoist stronghold, the company had not been progressing ahead mainly because of the prevailing law and order situation.

Bengal Shipyards, a R2000 crore ship building project is locked in land acquisition issues and the proposed 1,320 mw Katwa thermal power plant that would require R8000 crore investment at the current market prices is stuck for the same reason. Again land is coming in the way of CESC to start its 1,320 mw Balagarh thermal power project, which might require another R8000 crore investment, though CESC?s 600 mw thermal power project at Haldia being set up at a cost of R2,400 crore is on the verge of being commissioned.

As of now West Bengal has nine development authorities, 18 industrial parks and 12 growth centres ? all at construction stage.

All these leaves a lot for Mamata Banerjee to do on the industrial front and for that she would need to settle land acquisition issues, sort out law and order problems and improve relations with the Opposition.